Blackberry Bourbon Cocktail

I fell in love with whiskey and bourbon throughout the course of this past fall and winter, so it thrilled me to find a blackberry bourbon cocktail on the winter menu at Trat Frat (my favorite restaurant in town). I wound up going there quite a few times that season. Since they change their menu seasonally, we make it a point to go there at least once per menu. What usually brings me back is their cocktails, and a burning desire to have my favorite one(s) as often as possible before they disappear with the menu change. (This was especially true for the guava margarita on their spring menu, which I discovered during the Feast of St. Pizza.) The blackberry bourbon one was a major hit in my eyes, so I wanted to recreate it for for the blog this summer when blackberries were more readily available.

So today I’m sharing my best interpretation of that drink, and it’s pretty darn good. If you’re new to bourbon, this could be a great starter drink for you. It has a balance of sweet and tart, which is how I love my cocktails, but then it also has that unmistakable note of bourbon. Fruity, citrusy and refreshing, with a bourbon kick.

The day I was testing and photographing these for the blog was also the day our good friend Dave was installing a long, skinny liquor shelf in our kitchen for us. Robert and I can work our way around Photoshop and the internet, but we’re not so great with power tools. We had put off installing this shelf for six whole months before we caved and just asked Dave to do it for us. He’s a whiz with that kind of stuff. He built an island for his kitchen in three days, whereas it takes us a few months to hang up a picture in our apartment. We realized it was a job for the big leagues, so he graciously agreed to do it for us and we paid him with dinner and booze. (Thanks, Dave!)

I bring this up because Dave has become my whiskey/bourbon partner in crime. He’s fallen for the stuff even harder than I have. (I can’t cheat on my true love tequila TOO much, especially in the summertime.) So while he was installing our shelf, I was keeping him in steady supply of these cocktails. He had at least 3 or 4 of them, so I know they’re a winner with him.

Today’s post is part of a fun food blogger link-up called #drinkthesummer, organized by Sherrie from With Food and Love and Renee from Will Frolic for Food. There is an amazing amount of ridiculously good-sounding drinks (both boozy and non-boozy) coming out of this thing, so be sure to follow along on Instagram and Twitter. You can find links to all of the participants below. This list is insane! I have a lot of drinking to do for the rest of the summer …

Side note: I used to hate buying club soda for my cocktails because I would only use a little bit and the rest would go flat immediately. Then I discovered the tiny little glass bottles of club soda sold in 6-packs and it changed my life. I love them because you’re opening a small amount at a time (8 or 12 oz), so if it goes flat it’s not the end of the world. Small bottle = small commitment. I usually get 2 or 3 cocktails’ worth of club soda from each one. Furthermore, I’ve noticed the club soda staying carbonated much longer in the glass bottles. So that’s my pro tip for you. Honestly, though – I’ve got my eyes on a soda stream ever since using one at my friend’s beach house this summer. Do any of you have one? It’s currently on my Christmas list because then I can have soda water at the drop of a hat.

Happy summer drinking, friends!

Illustration at top created with Photoshop.Prints of my illustrations are available in my Etsy and Society6 shops.

Comments

I am ALL over the bourbon/blackberry combo! I am like you, I have great intentions of doing things with our house (hang that picture, fix that hole in the wall : /), but I always seem to get caught up by booze and cookies instead of doing those things. Whoops!

Saraaaa! I think we are drink soulmates. My main squeeze is also tequila, with any type of whiskey coming in second- favorably bourbon. And this drink is eye and mouth (the regular kind? haha) candy all at once! Cheers!

Pretty, pretty! We have a local restaurant that changes the menu seasonally as well and there is always several dishes that we LOVE and have to make sure we keep going back until it they are gone forever! I love the color of the blackberry in this drink.

Thanks Kathryn! Seasonal menus are my favorite, especially when cocktails are involved. They definitely keep you coming back for more before the items disappear, that’s for sure. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

This combination sounds DELICIOUS! I love the graphic – it’s so bright and cheerful and the colors in it are amazing. And these photos are everything! So glad Renee/Sherrie’s drinkthesummer had me stumbling upon your blog!

I got a sodastream last Christmas & it has changed my LIFE. I always hated seeing club soda go flat in the fridge, too, so the sodastream is a good solution for that. It also cuts down on the waste of buying the little 6-packs of soda (which I did, too, prior to the sodastream!). Now we have bubbly water whenever we want it. It’s the best! Not to sound like a salesperson for sodastream or anything…. ;)

Yess – I have the same love of those little club soda bottles! Plus they look so darn cute on the bar! Cheers to this beautiful cocktail and having favorite restaurants that keep it interesting with seasonal menus!

So, I, too, suck at hanging pictures or shelves, but I’d give it my best go if it meant payment in pretty, boozed-up muddled berry dranks! These are gorgeous (as always) and sound so refreshing and JUST sweet enough for summer. Well done, Sara!

Haha thanks Em! I don’t know why it’s so HARD to hang up a picture …. I just always push it off in favor of doing something else. Maybe if someone else was busy making the boozy dranks for me then I could spend my time hanging the picture. hehe ;-)

Okay, I’ve been reading your blog for far too long not to comment. I seriously can’t get over how beautiful all your illustrations/graphics are! So inspiring. Also, blackberries and bourbon is easily one of my favorite flavor combinations– I’m definitely going to make this cocktail asap! xo

Thanks Sherrie!!! I’m glad you like this one – whenever I do something a little out of the ordinary, it’s kind of a gamble about how it will turn out and if people will like it as much. Thanks for the constant support and for organizing this awesome party!!! xoxo

A good starter cocktail?! My ears totally perked up at that. Though I have to admit I’m not a huUuge fan of bourbon, I’m willing to give this a try since I do love blackberries and fizzy water…ALSO my mom has a sodastream! I just so happened to be home when I was making my cocktail post and it was the best thing ever because I was like, “hey mom I need some bubbly water” and she was like “one sec lemme stick this bottle in this machine ok here” IT WAS GREAT I WANT ONE. Based on my limited exposure to sodastreams, I would highly recommend getting one ;) BEAUTIFUL illustration, as always!!

Yeah!!! I think this could be good for someone who’s still a little unsure around bourbon. I got started with whiskey and bourbon by having it in cocktails like this one. It helped me to get used to it before moving onto harder versions of the stuff. ;-) And yesssss soda streams are so cool!!!!! I want one PRETTY badly. Thanks for the love, Erika!!! xoxo

1. Strawberry with bourbon DOES sound fantastic … now you’ve got me thinking. Can you make blackberry brandy?! That sounds ambitious! But I’m all for it.

2. Ha – you’re like the 3rd or 4th person to ask me about that. My mom actually had that collecting dust in her laundry room and gave it to me (I think when I was in college?). So, I have no idea where it’s from except my mom’s laundry room. My guess is that it’s pretty old. Sorry I can’t give you any more info!

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